Usability and Accessibility

We aim to make this and website accessible to all users and therefore intends to follow certain standards and government guidelines to ensure that this site can be used as effectively and easily as possible by everyone.

We will continually work towards improving the accessibility and usability of the website. However, if you experience any difficulties accessing a particular page please call Enquiries telephone.

Website Standards Compliance

This website has been built to conform to W3C's "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0", available at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/, level AA. It also conforms to other W3C standards and best practices and all pages validate as XHTML 1.0 Transitional.

Accessibility Browser Options

Access to this site can be enhanced via several options by adjusting the browser settings to suit your requirements and provide greater accessibility.

Adjusting the Text Size

The text size used throughout the site is easily increased or decreased using your browser. A couple of examples of how to do this are listed below:

Changing your text size in Microsoft Internet Explorer:

Select Text Size from the View
menu

Select from the list of predefined text sizes ranging from Largest to Smallest.

Zoom In on a Webpage

Internet Explorer Zoom lets you enlarge or reduce the size of a webpage. Unlike changing font size, zoom enlarges or reduces everything on the page, including text and images. You can zoom from 10% to 1000%.

To zoom a webpage:

On the bottom right of the Internet Explorer window, click the arrow to the right of the Change Zoom Level button.

Do one of the following:

To go to a predefined zoom level, click the percentage of enlargement or reduction you want.

To specify a custom level, click Custom.... In the Percentage zoom box, type a zoom value, and then click OK.

If you have a mouse with a wheel, hold down the CTRL key, and then scroll the wheel to zoom in or out.

From the keyboard you can increase or decrease the zoom value in 10% increments. To zoom in, press CTRL+PLUS SIGN. To zoom out, press CTRL+MINUS SIGN. To restore the zoom to 100%, press CTRL+0.

Difficulty Using a Mouse

Most websites can be used without a traditional mouse. Links can be selected and clicked using the keyboard.

If you find it difficult to use a mouse to navigate around the page, you can follow these steps as a substitute to using your mouse:

Click on the TAB key on your keyboard. This will move your cursor to each of the navigation options / links on the screen.

When you have found the link you want, press ENTER on your keyboard.

You can also use the 'Page Up' and 'Page Down' keys on your keyboard to move the page to the area you want to read.

Changing Colours

Changing the site's background colour can be particularly useful for users who rely on magnification technology, as white can produce an uncomfortable glare. It is also possible to change the colour of body text on the site.

Both can be achieved by changing preferences in your browser:

If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, go to the Tools menu, select Internet Options, select Colours and make changes to text and background colours in the Colours panel. You may need to select the Accessibility option first and tick the box options to enable colours to be changed.

For users of Firefox, go to the Tools menu, select Options, open Fonts and Colours. You can make changes to Fonts and background colours and link colours.